The first of these, the SEACOM cable, eastern Africa's first modern submarine cable, was completed in July.

ECONOMIST: Finishing the job

According to the terms of the agreement, Bharti--India's largest telecom company--will provide data capacity on its i2i submarine cable networks to Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.

WSJ: Bharti, Reliance Jio Sign Data Pact

"There was a submarine cable laid between Singapore and India which probably had quite an effect, and export processing zones were redesignated so there would have been some industrial investment due to tax breaks, " he said.

BBC: India sees jump in foreign investment

Six telecommunications companies have formed a consortium to build a submarine cable system linking Malaysia, Singapore, India and Sri Lanka with the Middle East, which could boost data connectivity significantly in the region as operators expand their data offerings to boost earnings.

WSJ: Telecom Consortium to Build Undersea Cable Network

Bharti's unit, Network i2i Ltd, owns the submarine communications cable network by the same name that connects India to Singapore.

WSJ: Bharti, Reliance Jio Sign Data Pact